<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Forgotten Legends by RavenclawProngs</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160645">Forgotten Legends</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenclawProngs/pseuds/RavenclawProngs'>RavenclawProngs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Reincarnation, do not copy to another site</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:00:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,483</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenclawProngs/pseuds/RavenclawProngs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Power corrupts, but it can also protect.  Wisdom seeks truth, but it can also weave falsehood.  Courage fights, but it can also fight the wrong battle.  These are the stories that did not become legend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. When Zelda is the One to Turn Evil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is probably never going to be a "finished" work.  It's really just a dumpsite for all my weird little ideas about scenes that could happen when you're part of a millennia-long reincarnation cycle and you actually remember stuff about your previous lives.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Excuse me, princess,” he murmured, barely loud enough to be heard.  As Zelda turned to him in surprise, he raised his sword and cut her throat, his eyes brimming with a bottomless sadness as the life drained from her own.</p><p>She fell to the ground with a quiet thump, the only sounds in the chamber Ganon’s labored panting and Link’s anguished, stifled sobs.</p><p>As the desert king caught his breath, he moved to stand before Link, laying one huge hand on the young man’s shoulder.  “You did what you had to.  You always do.”</p><p>Pained blue eyes rose to meet his solemn gaze and he watched as Link lost his internal battle, tears streaming freely down his face.  Zelda’s blood dripped slowly off the blade of his sword.</p><p>“Ganon,” he whispered.  “I--”</p><p>And Ganondorf watched in horror as the bearer of the Triforce of Courage broke.</p><p>“Please.  I can’t--” Link shook with an eon of anguish.  This was the part the legend never told.  And if Ganon had any say, they never would.</p><p>
  <em>“Please.”</em>
</p><p>Ganon closed his eyes.  All the Power of the Triforce, and he could never spare him this.  The one thing Link’s courage could never endure.</p><p>“Until we meet again, old friend,” he rumbled, meeting Link’s broken gaze as his fingers trembled on the hilt of the Master Sword, one last, fragile flicker of Courage allowing him to meet Ganondorf’s eyes with dignity as he reached up and swiftly snapped Link’s neck.  He carefully lowered the hero to lie beside the princess and knelt for a long moment, singing a Gerudo mourning dirge as old as the sands.</p><p>When he was finished, he carefully cleaned the blood from Zelda’s body and Link’s sword, wrapping her fatal wound in clean linen.  Then he lifted them both in his arms, as gentle as though they were newborn cuccos.  With a steady but heavy tread, he brought them both to the Shrine of Resurrection, placing them carefully in the pool.</p><p>“Goodbye for now, my friends.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. In Times of Peace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zelda leaned against the window frame, the shutters flung wide to let in the Spring breeze.</p><p>“You are a good king, this time around.  A strong king.”</p><p>Ganondorf smiled ruefully.  “I am always a <em>strong</em> king,” he replied.</p><p>“And you are usually also a good one,” Zelda allowed.  “Until you’re not.”  She bit her lip, twisting her robe between her hands.  “Will this be one of those cycles where we find balance?  I see no signs of corruption in you.”</p><p>Her gaze flitted out the window, and though he did not follow it, Ganon knew she was looking toward the Shrine of Resurrection.</p><p>“Will this be one of the times where <em>he</em> is the one to fall?”</p><p>Gently, he placed his hands on her shoulders, drawing her gaze back to the present, and to his own.  “Is it wise to borrow trouble?” he mused.</p><p>Zelda’s mouth twisted with a bitterness unbefitting her apparent years.  “It is wise to consider eventual outcomes.”</p><p>He gave her shoulders a careful squeeze.  “Perhaps so.  But consideration without all information leads nowhere.  Let’s break for lunch, and afterwards I’ll help you translate the scrolls I brought.”</p><p>For a moment, it seemed she might protest, and insist it was more important to find answers than food, before her stomach gave a rather unladylike growl.  She flushed in embarrassment, whereas Ganon let out a raucous laugh.</p><p>Zelda scowled at him, smacking him ineffectually on the arm.  “Oh, stop it!  Alright, you have a point, let’s get some lunch and come back to this.”</p><p>Ganondorf reined in his chuckles and bowed toward her, only a little mockingly.  “Lead the way then, your Highness.”</p><p> </p><p>Later, much later, despite years of research and planning, and more research, they had to concede that it seemed that the Hero of Legend was not coming.  Though their respective kingdoms enjoyed a time of prosperity and peace, there lay an uneasiness between them when no one else was witness.</p><p>Zelda’s hair was nearly entirely white, and Ganon had wrinkles upon his wrinkles.</p><p>“He’s really not coming, is he?” she murmured.</p><p>Ganon gazed upon her sadly.  “It may be that he already came.”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes, still sharp after all these years, snapped to meet his.  “What do you mean?” She demanded, sharper than she meant to.</p><p>With uncharacteristic hesitance, he replied, “Some of my scouts have mentioned there is a man, seeming to match Link’s usual appearance, given some years, living in a small hut on the edge of one of the out-most desolate towns.”  A ghost of a smile touched his lips.  “Apparently, he’s a potter.”</p><p>“A <em>potter!</em>  A potter?”  Gradually, her startlement turned into humor.  “A potter!” she chuckled.</p><p>Soon she was giggling uncontrollably, joined shortly thereafter by Ganon’s much deeper laughter.</p><p>“A potter,” he confirmed, once he’d regained control of himself.</p><p>Zelda chuckled, wiping the tears from her eyes.</p><p>“How long have you known?” she asked shrewdly.</p><p>He sighed.  “A few months for sure, though we’ve suspected for longer.  I wanted to be certain before I brought this to you.”</p><p>She sighed, shoulders slumping.  “A potter,” she mused.  “He must have woken some time ago then.  Why did he not say anything?”</p><p>“What is there for courage when there is no monster to fight?  Nor even some distant battle to prepare for?” he challenged.</p><p>Slowly, she nodded.  “I suspect you’re right.”  Straightening, she met his gaze head on.  “Well, there’s no harm in letting him continue to ride this cycle out in anonymity.  Goddess knows he’s earned it.”</p><p>He nodded in agreement.  “I’ll tell my scouts to keep a cautious eye out.  When his time comes, we’ll return him to the Shrine.  Until then…he can keep <em>making</em> pots for rupees.”</p><p>Zelda snorted.  “Indeed he can.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. In Times of War</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ganondorf spun to meet his enemy’s blade, turning just a fraction too slow, the long battle having wearied even him.</p><p>A hoarse, “No!” rang out across the battlefield, torn from a throat unused to forming words.  Link sprinted across the plain, cutting down all enemies in his path, but he already knew he was too late.</p><p>Ganon gave him a bloody smile.  “Until we meet again,” he called.  Link understood his plan a moment before Zelda did, tackling her from by Ganon’s side and covering their heads with his shield.  Zelda’s voice rang out in the minds of the Hylian and Gerudo soldiers, who dropped to the ground for safety a second before Ganondorf unleashed the full might of the Triforce of Power with his dying breath.</p><p> </p><p>As the remaining forces picked themselves up from the dirt, Link and Zelda gazed in sadness upon Ganon’s slack face, his last, defiant expression etched into it.  Link placed his hand on one massive shoulder.</p><p>“He looked his enemies in the eyes, to the very last,” Zelda murmured.</p><p>Link nodded.  One could never say Ganon lacked the strength to face his enemies.  Link met Zelda’s eyes.  They were shimmering with tears.  He swallowed his own back.</p><p>They had won.  Crying could come later, when they tallied the costs.  When they were alone.</p><p>Zelda read his resolve on his face and marshaled a calm facade.  There was no wisdom in letting a victory be too soon sullied by sadness.  Still, she could feel the ache of their loss burn beneath her sternum.</p><p>Mourning could come later.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. What is the Triforce to You?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ganon?  What does Power…<em>feel</em> like to you?”</p><p>Ganondorf looked up from the fire he was tending.  He could <strong>hear</strong> the capital letter in Zelda’s question.  He pondered his answer thoughtfully, prodding the fire with a stick.  In the corner of the room, Link paused in sharpening his sword, then resumed, quieter than before.</p><p>“Power is like a fire.  Properly tended, contained, it can be useful.  It can keep you warm.  Left to its own devices, it can consume you, and everything in its path.”</p><p>Zelda hummed thoughtfully, sitting near him.  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>“And you?  What is Wisdom like?”</p><p>She chewed her lip, gaze going inward.  “Wisdom is like…water.  Usually it’s necessary and safe.  Helpful.  But too much, not tempered or guided by anything else…and it can be cold; it can drown you.”</p><p>She shivered a bit, and Ganon threw another log into the fire.  For a long moment, the only sound was the crackling of the flames.  Then a quiet sound behind them drew their attention.</p><p>Link placed a small rock on the bench between them.</p><p>“Courage,” he murmured.  He cleared his throat.  “Courage is like a rock.  It’s steady, and it’s supportive.  But it can crush you.”</p><p>They accepted his declaration with solemn grace.  Ganon shifted slightly to make room next to his bulk, and Zelda patted the space between them.  Link picked up his stone and put it away, joining them by the fire.  Zelda filled a cup from a water pitcher and offered it to them both.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>